Bitter memories of a disastrous expedition, in which five soldiers nearly died of starvation, will be relived in a TV film. ITV's "The Place of The Dead" describes the harrowing 1994 army expedition to the jungles of Borneo involving seven British soldiers who tried to climb Mount Kinabalu - the highest peak in south east Asia. Two members of the ill-fated party have threatened to sue over the drama which they say makes them look incompetent. The expedition split in two after a man was injured and five men were left stranded in an impenetrable valley. They were unable to contact the outside world but were eventually rescued after 29 days.

The two-hour drama stars Emma Thompson's boyfriend Greg Wise, as expedition member Sergeant Hugh Brittan, and Timothy West. Team members, Sergeant Bob Mann and Lance Corporal Richie Mayfield, say The Place of the Dead is unrepresentative and unfair to them. Mann and Mayfield were in the party that forged ahead after their colleague was injured and feel they are painted as the villains of the piece. Their reaction has shocked Sgt Brittan, 27, from Tonbridge, Kent, who serves with the Royal Logistics Corps. He was a paid consultant on the film and recently spoke to Mann and Mayfield. Brittan told PA News today: "The film is made from my point of view and they are not too happy about it. I explained what it showed but I did not expect this reaction.

"The dispute began after we had been reunited in the hotel in Malaysia. I felt they had left me alone in the jungle to look after an injured guy. They thought I had abandoned them." He added: "We had no food, no ropes and an injured man with us. We were desperate to get out and it was the lowest moment." But Mann and Mayfield will get their say in an hour-long documentary, Return to the Place of the Dead, to be shown three days after next week's drama. And Jeff Pope, producer of the film, is unperturbed by the threat to sue. He said today: "Mann and Mayfield have their say in the documentary. "It is definitely based on Hugh's account of what happened, but I did interview all the other key members bar one, who was in Germany." "We have stuck to our version. My comment to Mann and Mayfield would be that the truth hurts. We are not worried by the threat." No changes have been made to the film as a result of the allegations.

The Place of the Dead is broadcast on ITV at 9pm on Saturday January 18.

Copyright 1997 The Press Association Limited

Thanks to Missy for the find!